HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded Age

Frederich-Erhard House

Galveston, Galveston County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Galveston native and banker William John Frederich, Sr. (1852-1898), had this house built for his family in 1894. After his death, his widow Jeanne sold the home to his nephew, Frederich William Erhard, in 1909. The home remained in the Erhard family until 1972. Built in a typical raised cottage form, the Queen Anne house features elaborate detailing in its porch balustrade, panelled frieze, and sunburst motifs in the gable ends and brackets. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1990

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Galveston-born banker William John Frederich built this raised Queen Anne cottage for his family in 1894, at the height of the island city's Gilded Age prosperity. After his early death his widow sold the home to his nephew, Frederich William Erhard, and it stayed in that family until 1972. Its elaborate porch balustrade, paneled frieze, and sunburst-motif gables typify the ornate domestic architecture of the era.

Why it matters

The house is a well-preserved example of the confident Victorian architecture that flourished in Galveston when it was one of the wealthiest and busiest ports in Texas.

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Related people

  • Β· William John Frederich Sr.
  • Β· Frederich William Erhard

Themes & tags

Nearby & related markers

George Fox House

Galveston, TX

Shortly after the Civil War, George Fox joined his father's Galveston bakery, an establishment dating to 1837, and built himself into a successful merchant by the turn of the century. Around 1903 he built this Queen Anne home with classical revival detailing for his wife Elizabeth and their family, probably replacing an earlier house destroyed in the catastrophic 1900 hurricane. Fox family members lived here until 1955.

William and Adele Skinner House

Galveston, TX

In 1895 local banker William Cooke Skinner and his wife Adele bought this parcel for their young family, and by 1896 noted Texas architect Charles William Bulger had designed them one of his most ornate Queen Anne homes. Its facade features twin gables, a wraparound corner gallery, and a distinctive tripartite bay window, with irregularly spaced windows and surviving wooden shutters. Original interior trim and stained glass in the stairwell remain.

George Seeligson Home

Galveston, TX

Galveston-born merchant George Seeligson built this house in 1875 on another lot in the block, later moving it here when his family put up a larger residence in 1887. Like many of the island's fine homes, it blends Greek Revival lines with Victorian flourishes. It passed to his daughter Lillian Winterbotham and, in 1954, to the Johnson family.

Lockhart House

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This Queen Anne residence began before 1889 as a modest one-story cottage and was transformed around 1894 by raising the original section to a second floor over a new ground level. Its owner, William B. Lockhart, was a son-in-law of Walter Gresham β€” builder of Galveston's famed Bishop's Palace β€” and rose to prominence as a county and federal judge, as did his son John after him. The house stands as a survivor of Galveston's Gilded Age prosperity.